


Dream a little dream of me

by ddugeun



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2016-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-23 06:43:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6108349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ddugeun/pseuds/ddugeun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn’t any secret that Law had nightmares.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dream a little dream of me

**Author's Note:**

> [nervous laughter] after almost a year break from writing i'm back  
> i have no excuse i'm just a sucker for lawlu comforting each other 
> 
> if there's any mistakes, please feel free to point them out! this is also my first time writing these two so... i hope i didn't do too badly ;_;

It wasn’t any secret that Law had nightmares.

They started off as a rare occurrence, a once every few months thing. They weren’t too bad; vague images flittering and flashing behind his closed eyes that resulted in him being wide awake and breathing too fast.

At first, he wasn’t particularly bothered by them. As soon as he woke up the images had already faded and he was struggling to remember what part of his dream had even woke him up. There was no reason to make a fuss about them, and he usually fell back asleep as soon as they’d happened.

Luffy didn’t notice at first, as he usually slept like a log most of the time. Law was too far from him; always spread out on the grass at more than an arm’s length away. Too far to touch but close enough to feel safe.

 

Neither of them remember when things changed.

 

The images weren’t just a passing thing any more. They played out vivid and real. He could smell the blood, feel it drying on his hands and splatter across his cheek. He could feel his heart pounding, head swimming and a shiver creeping up his back. He could hear the screams, the gunshots and the flames licking at his skin.

Over time, the soothing rocking of the Sunny became a form of sea sickness during his nightmares. He felt his body become unstable, stumbling around on an unsteady path. His stomach churned as he walked down the cobbled streets, only looking down at his feet but always still seeing the tragedy of his home town surrounding him.

He could see his reflection in a nearby puddle, his eyes dead and his hands dirty.

For this nightmares, he woke with a shout stuck in the back of his throat and his hand reaching out for something, _someone_ , that wasn’t there. He was in a sitting position before he knew it, his heart thudding and a thin sheen of sweat on his skin.

It was almost suffocating, the lingering smell of smoke still burned his throat as he tried to breathe in the salty ocean air. His eyes were unfocused, his brain confused as he let his hand drop back down to his side, until –

“Torao?” Luffy’s voice called out, quiet and comforting within the crisp outside air.

His eyes flickered over to where Luffy was slowly sitting up, rubbing his eyes with a closed fist.

“Torao, what’s wrong?” Luffy asked, his voice thick with sleep and his eyelids already drooping.

 _Breathe_ , Law told himself.

Luffy opened his eyes wider, knitting his eyebrows as he looked at Law. Then something changed on his face, his tired questioning gaze soon became one of a softer, more understanding nature.

“Did you have a nightmare?” Luffy tilted his head to the side.

Law swallowed, his throat was dry as if he hadn’t drank anything for days. He could feel the sweat on his skin cool as he began to regain the normal pace of his breathing. He tried not to think about the bold images in his head that made his stomach twist.

“Yeah,” he replied slowly, averting his eyes to look at the grass beneath him. He didn’t want Luffy to see him, to see the blood on his hands and the pain he’d felt. He felt dirty, and Luffy was –

Well, Luffy was Luffy.

The light at the end of the tunnel. The one who always reached his hand out first. The warm sun in a cloudless sky.

And –

Who was Law to tarnish that?

 

“Come here,” Luffy said, his expression determined.

“What?” Law blinked owlishly in confusion.

“Just – just come _here_ ,” Luffy continued, waving his hand in a motion to signal Law to come closer.

After a moment of hesitation, Law shuffled over to where Luffy was repositioning himself to sit with his legs stretched out in front of him. Once Law was sat next to him, Luffy slowly raised one of his hands to place behind Law’s head, pushing lightly until his head rested on Luffy’s thigh.

 

Luffy was warm, Law noticed, before the feeling of fingers running through his hair made him flinch.

“Sorry,” Luffy whispered, and Law had never heard him be so quiet, “Ace used to do this for me when I had nightmares. It helped me calm down.”

Law ignored the way Luffy’s voice caught slightly at the mention of his brother and continued to try and settle down. It was quiet, the only noise was the waves lapping at the side of the ship and the far away snores from the rest of the crew.

Usually Law would’ve put up more of a fight: roll his eyes, scoff and tell Luffy to mind his own business. But tonight was different. Sometimes it was okay to be comforted.

The fingers through his hair were delicate, carefully threading through and untangling any knots that’d formed during the day. It was nice to have this kind of atmosphere surround him. After all the drama, fast paced action and constant worrying that happened at Dressrosa not so long ago, the tranquil silence was almost a blessing.

Being so close to Luffy, the person who had taken him seriously and valued him as a friend, had Law’s heart beating a little too quickly for his liking. He knew what this was – the sweaty palms, his stomach doing summersaults and his ears burning red – but there was no reason to put a label on it. He didn’t need to be boxed in by his feelings again.

After a while, Law sat up, dislodging Luffy’s fingers in his hair. He felt the questioning glare directed at him, but he daren’t look up just yet. Instead, he reached his own hand out to grasp the one still hovering in the air. The feeling of entwining his fingers with rubber ones was a strange thing, but not bad.

Not bad at all.

Luffy squeezed Law’s hand, and it was like a weight had been taken off his shoulders. He looked up, eyes finding Luffy’s along with a reassuring smile.

“It’s gonna be okay, y’know,” Luffy declared, the smile transforming into a large grin, “Me and you against the world, right?”

Law couldn’t help but huff out a laugh, and tightened his grip around Luffy’s hand. Whatever this is between them, whatever it may turn out to be or whether it may fade away, is something special. It was something worth living for. Something worth sleeping through the nightmares to wake up another day. Something that, even if it fell apart in front of him, would be worth treasuring in his memories.

Weariness began to tug at Law’s eyelids, prompting him to slide them shut. He’d fallen asleep sitting up before, and it was worth doing it again if he could just hold onto Luffy for a few moments longer.

The feeling of lips brushing against his cheek was a soothing one, and a shocking revelation to have once he was well rested.

Maybe, just maybe, this was something precious that he could actually keep.

 


End file.
